Transparent People: Please Shut Up

There is much talk today of the need for “transparency.” For Christians to “be honest” or “genuine” with each other and not to hide things.

Well, quite frankly, I’m not interested in you being honest, transparent or genuine with me if you’re a jerk.

Seems much of our desire to be open is nothing short of a desire to celebrate sin. Pastors who try to be “transparent” tend to like to swear and talk about beer.

If you have a desire to be genuine with people, might I suggest you take care of sin first? Mortify the deeds of the body before you reveal yourself to others.

Being honest and open is a fine thing, if honesty and openness are among a group of honest, pure people. Otherwise it looks like Dr.Phil or, the Great One himself, Jerry Springer.

These sorts of circus acts are not what churches are supposed to be. Get things honest, open and transparent with Jesus first, let the fire of His Word purge and clean you. Once that is done, feel free to bring all things into the open with others.

Scratch the Itch

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4 comments

Jeff,
How do you reconcile not being transparent as the Apostle John tells us, in the context of scripture regarding fellowship with one another?

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”- 1 John 1: 8-10

There is a difference between sharing struggles with people you know well and people who flaunt their sin in front of groups of mostly unknown people with little sorrow and mostly just bragging about their sinful exploits. Confessing sin is much different from glorifying sin. Most calls for “transparency” look more like bragging to me.

I guess I have just never encountered that kind of prideful “transparency” that you are mentioning. Most Christians are very good at hiding their sin from the body, not wanting to humble themselves, because of pride.

Real transparency would be to see myself as God sees me. “In Thy light we shall see light.” “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Such a view would never lead me to justify sin. In fact, if I find myself justifying or glorying in sin, then it shows that I do not at all see myself clearly, nor the nature of sin, nor the nature of God’s righteousness, justice, and mercy.

I knew a man once who talked much about all the terrible things he did when he was addicted to alcohol and drugs. He would always try to make it sound like a bad thing by saying, “wasn’t that terrible?” and phrases like that. But yet, he could speak for hours about these terrible things. A few years later he went back into those same practices again. It shows that in his so-called confessions was actually a glorying in sin, and a love for those ways. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”